RECRUITING: Marlon Humphrey trims list to three schools

Tuesday

Oct 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The University of Alabama welcomed several visitors on campus for the homecoming win against Georgia State. The most notable player in Tuscaloosa was a five-star cornerback from Hoover High School. A couple of Crimson Tide commitments were on campus, as well as a possible future commitment from the class of 2015.

By Andrew BoneRecruiting Analyst | The Tuscaloosa News

The University of Alabama welcomed several visitors on campus for the homecoming win against Georgia State. The most notable player in Tuscaloosa was Marlon Humphrey, five-star cornerback from Hoover High School. A couple of Crimson Tide commitments were on campus and a possible future commitment in the class of 2015 also watched the game. Humphrey is ranked the No. 5 overall prospect in the country, and No. 1 player in the state. The Tide legacy, son of former Alabaman All-American running back Bobby Humphrey, recently eliminated South Carolina from his list of favorites. He is currently talking with Alabama, Florida State and Mississippi State. He has an official visit set to Florida State on Nov. 2. His visit to Tuscaloosa on Saturday was the first of the season. He will likely return for a few more games including the November date with LSU. Humphrey originally discussed announcing his commitment at the Under Armour All-America game in January. Now, he said his decision will likely happen on signing day, which is the first Wednesday in February. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart has taken a significant role in the recruiting efforts of Humphrey for the Tide. His area recruiter is offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. Humphrey is recruited by Florida State's defensive coordinator, Jeremy Pruitt, who is a former Alabama assistant coach and Hoover defensive coordinator. Mississippi State is probably the most surprising team still in the race for Humphrey's signature. The Bulldogs have also offered a few of Humphrey's teammates in the 2015 class with hopes of forming a pipeline. Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins and cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend are the lead recruiters. Townsend is also a former Alabama player, and Collins was the director of player personnel at Alabama in 2007. Bo Scarbrough, Rivals100 athlete and Alabama commitment from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., returned to Tuscaloosa on Saturday. It was more than just Alabama's homecoming for Scarbrough, who moved from Tuscaloosa to Florida in August. Scarbrough is having a great season, but the biggest concern the past few months has been academics. He is still working to improve his test scores and GPA. Other programs are working on Scarbrough to flip his commitment, including Florida and Florida State. Scarbrough visited the Gators two weeks ago. He has an official visit scheduled to Notre Dame on October 19. He is also talking with UCLA and Miami about possible visits. He was presented with his Under Armour All-America game jersey last week. “It's just a blessing,” Scarbrough said of his selection as an Under Armour All-American. “It feels great to be a part of something like this especially since it's played on ESPNU. I feel great to be selected out of so many kids in the country. Some kids don't get this opportunity.”Mekhi Brown, 2015 five-star defensive end from Carver High in Columbus, Ga., also returned to Tuscaloosa on Saturday. The Alabama commitment visited for the Ole Miss game and plans to return when Alabama hosts Tennessee. “It was a good win, a solid win,” Brown said. “The young guys looked good. I was really watching Xzavier Dickson and Adrian Hubbard. I thought they played really good. I see a lot of similarities between me and Hubbard.” Lester Cotton, 2015 offensive guard from Central High in Tuscaloosa, was on campus for the game. He has close to 10 scholarship offers including Alabama. The Tide is a heavy favorite to land Cotton's commitment which may come sooner rather than later.

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